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Like so many folks in the education industry, I recently embarked upon my summer vacation. I was that kid who couldn’t wait to sign up for the library summer reading program, who three weeks into summer was ready to go back, and who loved school/office supplies with a passion bordering on the unnatural.

And I’m not that different as an adult. After all, I am a learning enthusiast, so it follows that if I have more free time, I’ll learn more, not less. Two excellent opportunities came to my attention via Twitter. They’re both low pressure and easy to jump into at any time, which is great as I’ll be traveling for most of July.

The first is Teachers Write!, a virtual summer writing camp for teachers and librarians. Author Kate Messner and a host of her writing friends will be sharing advice, giving challenges, and generally building community. I am about to dive into it all now – 15 days after it officially started.

The second is the Level Up Book Club, a place to read books about gamification and discuss the gamification of education. Gamification is a topic near and dear to my heart and one of the things that drew me to library school in the first place. Should I go back for a doctorate, it would be one of my chief research interests. So I’m jumping into this one – again, late due to loose ends that needed to be tied up at the end of the school year – and will be making my way through Jane McGonigal’s Reality Is Broken over the next week and a half – if I can tear myself away from the next book in A Song of Ice and Fire, that is.

Check these two out and let me know if you’re already participating or if you sign up. See you there!